[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 53 (Tuesday, March 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10077-10079]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05140]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the intention of the Agency for 
Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request that the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approve the proposed information collection 
project: ``Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture Comparative 
Database.''

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by May 20, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: Doris Lefkowitz, 
Reports Clearance Officer, AHRQ, by email at 
[email protected].
    Copies of the proposed collection plans, data collection 
instruments, and specific details on the estimated burden can be 
obtained from the AHRQ Reports Clearance Officer.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports 
Clearance Officer, (301) 427-1477, or by

[[Page 10078]]

emails at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposed Project

``Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture Comparative Database.''

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-
3521, AHRQ invites the public to comment on this proposed information 
collection. The Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (Hospital 
SOPS) is designed to enable hospitals to assess provider and staff 
perspectives about patient safety issues, medical error, and error 
reporting. The Hospital SOPS includes 42 items that measure 12 
composites of patient safety culture. AHRQ first made the Hospital SOPS 
publicly available, along with a Survey User's Guide and other toolkit 
materials, in November 2004 on the AHRQ website.
    The Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture Comparative Database 
(Hospital SOPS Database) consists of data from the Hospital SOPS and 
may include reportable, non-required supplemental items. Hospitals in 
the U.S. can voluntarily submit data from the survey to AHRQ, through 
its contractor, Westat. The Hospital SOPS Database (OMB NO. 0935-0162, 
last approved on September 30, 2016) was developed by AHRQ in 2006 in 
response to requests from hospitals interested in tracking their own 
survey results. Those organizations submitting data receive a feedback 
report, as well as a report of the aggregated de-identified findings of 
the other hospitals submitting data. These reports are used to assist 
hospital staff in their efforts to improve patient safety culture in 
their organizations.

Rationale for the Information Collection

    The Hospital SOPS and the Hospital SOPS Database support AHRQ's 
goals of promoting improvements in the quality and safety of health 
care in hospital settings. The survey, toolkit materials, and database 
results are all made publicly available on AHRQ's website. Technical 
assistance is provided by AHRQ through its contractor at no charge to 
hospitals, to facilitate the use of these materials for hospital 
patient safety and quality improvement.
    This database will:
    1. Present results from hospitals that voluntarily submit their 
data,
    2. provide data to hospitals to facilitate internal assessment and 
learning in the patient safety improvement process, and
    3. provide supplemental information to help hospitals identify 
their strengths and areas with potential for improvement in patient 
safety culture.
    This study is being conducted by AHRQ through its contractor, 
Westat, pursuant to AHRQ's statutory authority to conduct and support 
research on health care and on systems for the delivery of such care, 
including activities with respect to the quality, effectiveness, 
efficiency, appropriateness and value of health care services and with 
respect to surveys and database development. 42 U.S.C. 299a(a)(1) and 
(8)

Method of Collection

    To achieve the goal of this project the following activities and 
data collections will be implemented:
    1. Eligibility and Registration Form--The hospital point-of-contact 
(POC) completes a number of data submission steps and forms, beginning 
with the completion of an online Eligibility and Registration Form. The 
purpose of this form is to collect basic demographic information about 
the hospital and initiate the registration process.
    2. Data Use Agreement--The purpose of the data use agreement, 
completed by the hospital POC, is to state how data submitted by 
hospitals will be used and provide privacy assurances.
    3. Hospital Site Information Form--The purpose of the site 
information form, also completed by the hospital POC, is to collect 
background characteristics of the hospital. This information will be 
used to analyze data collected with the Hospital SOPS survey.
    4. Data Files Submission--POCs upload their data file(s), using 
hospital data file specifications, to ensure that users submit 
standardized and consistent data in the way variables are named, coded, 
and formatted. The number of submissions to the database is likely to 
vary each year because hospitals do not administer the survey and 
submit data every year. Data submission is typically handled by one POC 
who is either a patient safety manager in the hospital or a survey 
vendor who contracts with a hospital to collect and submit their data. 
POCs submit data on behalf of 3 hospitals, on average, because many 
hospitals are part of a health system that includes many hospitals, or 
the POC is a vendor that is submitting data for multiple hospitals.

Estimated Annual Respondent Burden

    Exhibit 1 shows the estimated annualized burden hours for the 
respondents' time to participate in the database. An estimated 340 
POCs, each representing an average of 3 individual hospitals each, will 
complete the database submission steps and forms annually. Each POC 
will submit the following:
     Eligibility and registration form (completion is estimated 
to take about 3 minutes).
     Data Use Agreement (completion is estimated to take about 
3 minutes).
     Hospital Information Form (completion is estimated to take 
about 5 minutes).
     Survey data submission will take an average of one hour.
    The total annual burden hours are estimated to be 459 hours. 
Exhibit 2 shows the estimated annualized cost burden based on the 
respondents' time to submit their data. The cost burden is estimated to 
be $26,572 annually.

                                  Exhibit 1--Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                     Number of       Number of
                    Form name                      respondents/    responses per     Hours per     Total burden
                                                       POCs             POC          response          hours
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Eligibility/Registration Form...................             340               1            3/60              17
Data Use Agreement..............................             340               1            3/60              17
Hospital Information Form.......................             340               3            5/60              85
Data Files Submission...........................             340               1               1             340
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................             N/A             N/A             N/A             459
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                                   Exhibit 2--Estimated Annualized Cost Burden
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                                                     Number of
                    Form name                      respondents/    Total burden   Average hourly    Total cost
                                                       POCs            hours        wage rate *       burden
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Eligibility/Registration Form...................             340              17          $57.89            $984
Data Use Agreement..............................             340              17           57.89             984
Hospital Information Form.......................             340              85           57.89           4,921
Data Files Submission...........................             340             340           57.89          19,683
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................             N/A             N/A             N/A          26,572
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Mean hourly wage of $57.89 for Medical and Health Services Managers (SOC code 11-9111) was obtained from the
  May 2017 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates NAICS 622000--Hospitals,
  located at http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics3_622000.htm.

Request for Comments

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, comments on AHRQ's 
information collection are requested with regard to any of the 
following: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of AHRQ's health care research and 
health care information dissemination functions, including whether the 
information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of AHRQ's 
estimate of burden (including hours and costs) of the proposed 
collection(s) of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information upon the 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and included in the Agency's subsequent request for OMB approval of the 
proposed information collection. All comments will become a matter of 
public record.

Gopal Khanna,
Director.
[FR Doc. 2019-05140 Filed 3-18-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-90-P